Description and research notes
This ten dollars specimen of the Cayman Islands Currency Board belongs to the 1974 design series prepared under the Cayman Islands Currency Law of 1974 and produced by Thomas De La Rue and Company Limited as controlled reference material. It preserves the complete engraved design of the denomination while being permanently invalidated for non-monetary use.
The specimen format follows the established De La Rue layered control protocol. A bold diagonal SPECIMEN overprint crosses the face in black ink, accompanied by two oval control stamps reading “SPECIMEN / DE LA RUE & CO LTD / NO VALUE,” also applied in black. A single punch cancellation is present in the signature area, physically voiding the note while leaving the engraved surfaces fully legible. Within the 1974 Cayman specimen group, black control markings are documented on the ten dollars, forty dollars, and one hundred dollars denominations, while other denominations in the same series employ red.
The specimen carries the all-zero serial format with prefix A/1 and internal control number 011, confirmed by the printed tracking panel “SPECIMEN No. 011” at the lower margin. This numbering structure belongs to De La Rue’s specimen accounting system and does not correspond to circulation sequencing.
On the obverse, Queen Elizabeth the Second appears at right in finely executed intaglio, balanced by the Cayman Islands coat of arms integrated into the central denomination cartouche. Beneath the central panel appears the engraved signature of V. G. Johnson, serving as Chairman of the Cayman Islands Currency Board during the 1974 administrative phase of the series.
The reverse presents the maritime vignette distinctive to the ten dollars denomination, with a coastal scene anchored by structured ornamental framing and controlled negative space. De La Rue’s treatment of shoreline textures, rigging lines, and border geometry demonstrates the disciplined engraving vocabulary applied across the Cayman 1974 series.
As a specimen, this note functions as documentary material rather than currency. It records the finalized ten dollars design together with the exact invalidation tools and internal control methods used by Thomas De La Rue to separate archival reference impressions from live monetary production.